Constraints of the paleowind directions on the paleogeography of the North China, South China and Tarim cratons during the Ediacaran Period

After the ‘Snowball Earth’ event, the Ediacaran Period unfolded under a globally warm climate and has been characterised by significant geological developments, such as the Ediacaran oxidation event, increased chemical weathering and the emergence of multicellular fauna. Although growing evidence suggests that the climate during the early Ediacaran and the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition was cool and cold, respectively, and that metazoans may have originated prior to the Ediacaran, these hypotheses remain controversial. The paleogeographic positions of the North China, South China and Tarim cratons, along with their relationships to other landmasses, have been focal points of interest in the geoscientific community. The positioning of these three major cratons has long been debated owing to the lack of effective methods for precise reconstruction. Investigating their paleogeography during the Ediacaran Period can help address these uncertainties and contribute to refining the Gondwana continental model. This study aimed to infer paleowind directions to better constrain the Ediacaran Period paleogeography of these cratons. Analysis of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility from outcrop magnetic fabric data indicated that the prevailing Ediacaran Period wind directions from the present north in North China, South China and Tarim cratons were 92.1° ± 114.1°, 104.1° ± 115.8° and 245.1° ± 82.0°, respectively. Owing to clockwise rotations of 37°, 74° and 166° for the North China, South China and Tarim cratons since the Ediacaran Period, the reconstructed paleowind directions during the Ediacaran Period were 55°, 30° and 79° from the paleo-north, respectively. Additionally, during the Ediacaran Period, the North China and Tarim cratons were near the equator, and the South China Craton was positioned close to western Australia. The main contributions include: (1) the quantitative recovery of prevailing paleowind directions in Precambrian strata using the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility data, a relatively novel approach for Precambrian studies, and (2) the refinement of the Ediacaran Period paleogeographic locations of the North China, South China and Tarim cratons based on paleowind directions, providing a valuable reference for future paleogeographic research on other Precambrian landmasses. Quantitative measurements of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) were documented for the Ediacaran Period. The Ediacaran paleowind directions (modern coordinates) were 92.1° ± 114.1° (North China), 104.1° ± 115.8° (South China) and 245.1° ± 82.0° (Tarim). The Ediacaran paleowind directions were 55° (North China), 30° (South China) and 79° (Tarim) in paleocoordinates. New late Ediacaran paleogeographic positions for the three cratons were determined by aligning paleowinds with trade winds.